10/02/2011

The top three teams in the Northeast division were extremely
competitive all year long in 10-11, but lets look at how that might shake out
this year. At the end of each summary we
will highlight just one blog for that respective team, but there are many
quality sites out there if you care to search for them. Please share your comments on the rest of the
teams across the NHL as we fill the void of the offseason.

Boston Bruins

2010-2011 Record: 46-25-11 (1st
in the Division)

Offseason Thus Far: The
Bruins got to carry the Stanley Cup around this summer after an amazing season
by Tim Thomas. The only acquisition of
note was the veteran defenseman Joe Corvo.
Adam McQuaid signed a contract extension that he called a no-brainer. Brad Marchand also decided to stay in Boston, but the biggest
team news may be that Marc Savard is still struggling with issues related to
concussions.

Analysis: Thomas
won the Vezina Trophy and was solid throughout the playoffs after being
partially written off in the 09-10 season.
Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin fueled the offensive attack with David
Krejci picking up his game when it counted most. There is no reason to believe the Bruins will
not contend again this year.

Offseason Thus Far: Buffalo
has a new owner and he gave the green light to sign and find talent through
trades. The Sabres were one of the most
active teams this offseason starting with the acquisition of Robyn Regehr and
Ales Kotalik sending Chris Butler and Paul Byron to Calgary.
Christian Ehrhoff signed a lucrative long term contract and was followed
to Buffalo by
Ville Leino. The moves showed Sabres’
fans that new owner Terry Pegula is committed to doing what is needed to
improve the team.

Analysis: The
moves were one thing, but this team still has Ryan Miller in net. Drew Stafford, Thomas Vanek, and Jason
Pominville are mainstays in Buffalo
and Tyler Ennis showed a lot of skill last year. It is a solid lineup from top to bottom that
should help to duplicate the finish of this division last year. However, the money being thrown around will
make the scrutiny that much tougher.

Offseason Thus Far: Montreal played with grit
last year and found itself for playoff position. After Max Pacioretty had the gruesome looking
injury against the stanchion the team rallied and found the scoring touch on
the power play. Pacioretty should be
back this year and there were some solid additions as well. Peter Budaj was brought in to be the back up
goaltender. Eric Cole signed a four year
contract coming over from Carolina. Chris Campoli is a recent signing on the blue
line.

Analysis: Pesky
may be the best way to describe Montreal
this year as the core of the team is all in.
Carey Price answered all the doubters last year, but the pressure will
be back on him to perform. They have a
good mix of excitement and status quo on defense as most know what they will
get from Andrei Markov and Hall Gill while P.K. Subban is sure to
surprise. This locker room is probably
thinking Stanley Cup or bust.

Offseason Thus Far: The Senators had an off year battling injuries
and inconsistent goaltending while the ownership was willing to listen to most
offers. That meant a lot of spots were
open in the Senators lineup for the coming year. Bobby Butler, Tim COnboy, Lee Sweatt, Mark
Parrish, and Mika
Zibanejad will be among those trying to find a role in Ottawa.
Tough guy Zenon Konopka and goaltender Alex Auld also now call Ottawa home.

Analysis: It was
clear early last year that the Senators needed some changes and this year could
be full of growing pains. There are
still many questions in the forwards outside of Butler, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Nick
Foligno, and Chris Neil. A once hyped prospect, Nikita Filatov, will try to
resurrect his game in the NHL as a member of the Senators. Craig Anderson now prowls the crease and the
defensive core is led by several NHL veterans.
Still one must wonder where the scoring will come from and how Ottawa can hang with its
division foes.

Offseason Thus Far: The Leafs acquired Matthew Lombardi and Cody
Franson from Nashville
despite Lombardi’s injury woes only playing two games last year. Tim Connolly signed on as the top line center
to feed Phil Kessel. The biggest name to
find a new home in Toronto
is John-Michael Liles as the Leafs look for a big contribution on the power
play. Toronto
did make a play for Brad Richards before he landed in New York.

Analysis: There
was some improvement as the year progressed for Toronto but the final statistics showed that
they put a lot of pressure on their own goaltender and not enough on the
opposition netminder. James Reimer
played well but saw an average of 31 shots per night. Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson should still see
a lot of pucks as the Leafs’ moves were more offensively focused. The fan base is optimistic, but this season
still feels like a slight uphill battle.